Updates From the Field: Nepal Earthquake Relief

Thank you to all of our Give Light, Get Light supporters! We have been amazed by the outpouring of support that we received after the Nepal Earthquake in April. Your contributions have helped LuminAID distribute over 1,000 lights to earthquake relief efforts in Nepal, with many more on the way.

Following April’s earthquake and May’s aftershocks, thousands of families in Nepal have been living in temporary shelters, often without dependable light sources. In many areas, medical teams and relief organizations need dependable renewable lighting sources to shine light on their work and to provide light to families for their basic activities.

Our partner, Empower Nepali Girls, an NGO which works to educate and support at-risk Nepali girls, recognized an immediate need after the disaster and responded with temporary shelter, food, and basic amenities. LuminAID is being distributed in remote villages in the Everest region, and relief efforts are ongoing. Dr. Patrice Moulton of the organization said that after the second quake, “the LuminAID came in use at a critical time when there was fading light and Matt, our doctor, was struggling with lack of light. Electricity was knocked out in many places from the latest earthquakes. We were able to treat so many that desperately needed it.”

A young Nepalese girl receives her light from Empower Nepali Girls

Dr. Jeffrey Kottler explained, “We were conducting a medical clinic in a remote part of the Everest region that had yet to receive any assistance from the government or any relief agency. Almost all the houses had been leveled. People were living in make-shift tents and finding shelter anyway they could. Hundreds of people were lined up for medical care and it was getting late. The light was fading and we could barely see what we were doing inside the schoolroom that we had commandeered for our examining rooms. We strung the LuminAIDs across the room to provide better visibility. Each patient who came to see us after that left with their own LuminAIDs. As we left the hillside we could see them glowing in the tents of those we had left behind.”

Hoosiers Helping Nepal, a group of health professionals from Indiana, traveled to Kathmandu and surrounding villages in May to aid in medical relief efforts. Dr. Prakash Karki and his medical team worked frantically in the spring to provide immediate aid to those in need. According to the team the LuminAID lights were one of the most coveted items as they distributed the relief supplies. The team distributed the lights in Melamchi village which is north east of Kathmandu.They are planning a second follow-up trip in the fall to continue their work.

LuminAID lights are demonstrated to residents of the Melamchi village, north-east of Kathmandu

Relief efforts in the region are ongoing as the recovery process continues. Many families continue to live in temporary shelters without dependable light sources, but you can help them! When you purchase a Give Light Get Light Package, you will receive a light for yourself, and sponsor another light to help out important relief efforts in the region. Thanks to our partners for their amazing work, and to all of our customers for your continued support!

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